The appointment is a major blow to incumbent Omnicom Group agency GSD&M, which competed to retain the account against a number of other agencies.
Wal-Mart short-listed WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather and Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi alongside the newly combined Draft FCB Group.
Wal-Mart eliminated a further five agencies, including another incumbent, Bernstein-Rein, which is based in Kansas City and has worked for the retailer for 32 years. The agency handled media buying while GSD&M was responsible for advertising.
WPP's JWT, Publicis, Leo Burnett Chicago and MDC Partners' Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners also took part in early stages of the pitch process.
The review was handled by Select Resources International.
Early on in the review process it was reported that one focus was a change in direction for Wal-Mart and a move upmarket.
Earlier this year, it launched a new tagline to underscore this approach with "Look beyond the basics".
The ads feature testimonials from shoppers who, while shopping for basic items at Wal-Mart, are surprised to find much more, such as its clothing line Metro 7, which targets hip, urban, fashionista women with a cheap but chic look.
For the launch of Metro 7, Wal-Mart has run ads in Vogue fronted by former Miss Universe, Dayanara Torres, to shout about the line and change perceptions.
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